June 06, 2019

Oakland, Green Bay to play NFL preseason game in Winnipeg

We finally have a confirmation of a NFL preseason game in Winnipeg on August 22 at 7 pm CDT with the Oakland Raiders as the home team against the Green Bay Packers.

The Raiders are in the process of moving from Oakland to Las Vegas. There was a conflict with the Oakland A's over the Week 3 NFL preseason game.

The game at IG Field (formerly Investors Group Field) in Winnipeg will be the first NFL game in the province of Manitoba, and only the second game ever in western Canada. Outside the Buffalo Bills series in Toronto, the last NFL preseason game in Canada was on August 15, 1998 when the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks played at BC Place in Vancouver.

Tickets go on sale Saturday at 10 am CDT. Prices range from $75-$340 Canadian. If you are going to the game, the sightlines are rather good there. Even the end zone seats are pretty nice.

NFL exhibition games in Canada used to be more common. Previous NFL exhibition games in Canada have primarily focused on Eastern Canada in Toronto, Montréal, Ottawa, and Hamilton.

American fans of a different kind of football will be familiar with what was then called Investors Group Field when the 2015 U.S. Women's World Cup soccer team played in Winnipeg. The stadium got some NHL focus with the 2016 Heritage Classic. IG Field also hosted the 2015 Grey Cup.

See you soon, Canada. 🇨🇦

We’re heading north of the border for the first time ever, hosting the Packers in Winnipeg this preseason.

The Week 11 CFL schedule was a determining factor. Winnipeg is in Edmonton on Friday that week. The Blue Bombers did not want the NFL game to be on the same night as the CFL game.

Oakland's first choice was Mosaic Stadium in Regina, home of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The Roughriders, hosting Ottawa on Saturday night, felt the field conversion would cut too close. The Raiders then looked east to Winnipeg.

Touchdown Atlantic is Sunday so the CFL didn't ideally want a game in Canada opposite the game in Moncton.

The Valour FC Canadian Premier League soccer match for August 22 at IG Field will have to be rescheduled.

Aaron Rodgers may be the biggest name to play in the game, but the loudest cheers might be for Luke Willson, actual Canadian NFL player. Willson played mostly with Seattle but played for his nearby hometown team Detroit last year. Willson is from LaSalle near Windsor in Ontario. The Oakland Raiders signed Willson in March.